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Rediff.com  » Getahead » Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!
This article was first published 13 years ago

Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!

Last updated on: May 3, 2011 18:05 IST


Do you think you can speak the language better than the Queen? We challenge you to take this quiz and find out how well versed you are in the English language!

English, as Amitabh Bachchan told us in one of his movies, is a very 'phunny' language.

That being said, it is also a language we simply cannot do without.

Since English has always been a second language to Indians, many of us tend to commit mistakes without realising it.

Language expert Preeti Shirodkar recently wrote a series of articles on rediff.com on the most common blunders Indians make while speaking and writing in English. 

Now, she has designed a quiz on word usage. Find out if you really know the English language as well as you think you do!

Read the sentences carefully and select one of the three options listed below to fill in the blank



1. She went and sat __________ her friend who had lost her dog, in order to comfort her.

a. beside
b. besides
c. neither of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


2. It was __________ that she took notice of the poor old beggar.

a. then
b. than
c. neither of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


3. As the story continued, a sudden, loud noise in ___________ backyard shook them up.

a. there
b. their
c. neither of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


4. Walking ________________ the gate, she saw a multi-coloured rainbow spread across the sky.

a. towards
b. toward
c. either of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


5. It is impossible not to ______________ one's focus in the face of such calamity.

a. loose
b. lose
c. neither of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


6. Having _____________ post dinner is one of the primary causes of obesity across the world.

a. desert
b. dessert
c. either of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


7. It is really impossible for others to trust you, if you do not _____________ what you preach.

a. practice
b. practise
c. either of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


8. It was her _______________ aim to bring order to the chaos, she saw all around her.

a. principal
b. principle
c. neither of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


9. To get the crowd under control proved _______________ a task for the outnumbered police force.

a. quiet
b. quite
c. either of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


10. When asked whether she wished to hear the good news or the bad first, she said she would prefer the ____________.

a. later
b. latter
c. neither of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


11. These days one has to be prepared for any kind of ______________ at any time of the year.

a. whether
b. weather
c. either of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


12. An application letter addressed to the __________________ manager wouldn't fetch one a job as a professor in the English department.

a. personnel
b. personal
c. either of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


13. His ________________ to the post of CEO was so phenomenal that it aroused more hatred than admiration.

a. ascent
b. accent
c. neither of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


14. Her plea to turn _________ the television fell on deaf ears.

a. of
b. off
c. neither of the two


Think you're an English whiz? Take this quiz!


15. Do not take printouts ____________ when it's really necessary.

a. accept
b. except
c. expect